Here’s a collection of Bengali types and letters from Bangladesh, as collected by 12 year old Hrit Roy, a student of Patha Bhavan, Santiniketan. Over a month of stay in Dhaka, Hrit incessantly documented all sorts of lettering specimens—commercial & non-commercial, handcrafted & computer-generated—to be found about this beautiful city which did its bit for this language and it’s survival.

Ananda, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Samokaal, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Prathom Aalo, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Anya Aalo, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Sahitya Samoyiki, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Though hardly comprehensive, this collection nonetheless helps us make a few deductions about the state of Bengali letters and its esthetics. First of all, newspaper nameplates are almost always disappointing in both parts of Bengal, barring a few exceptions, like those from the house of ABP. Often film titles and other commercial letterings show more respect to the nuances of typography than these newspapers. This I find surprising.

Secondly, wall-writings of Bangladesh, from what we find in this collection here, have a surprisingly different personality from the political wall-writings of West Bengal. This is probably because of the active student participation which has always colored national politics of Bangladesh. These are mainly slogans written by students around the university, and there is an unmistakable ‘socialist’ character in these letters and their shapes. And it refreshingly avoids the clichés of commercial letterings. The wall-writings of West Bengal (even in the case of student politics) are usually commissioned to commercial wall-painters with more nuanced but affected techniques.

Wall-writing, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Wall-writing, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Wall-writing, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Wall-writing, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

Wall-writing, Dhaka. Image: Hrit Roy 2010

On the other hand, the commercial signs & hoardings of both Bengals show remarkable typographic similarity, probably due to the similar sources of inspirations, which include many non-typographic traditions and practices as well. Here I leave you with a selection: